


A Journey of Self Discovery

by OnstageSport



Category: The Book of Mormon - Ambiguous Fandom, The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: AU, I'm not sure what AU title to give this, M/M, Roommates, T for strong language, mcbladeley, mcpriceley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-11 23:05:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7074286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnstageSport/pseuds/OnstageSport
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kevin doesn't know why seeing Connor and his boyfriend bothers him so darn much and it takes a while to figure it out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this tumblr post: http://corpidicarta.tumblr.com/post/145096691550/is-anyone-writing-an-au-yet

Kevin grimaced as Connor and Steve shared a quick kiss on the couch as he refilled the bowl of chips the three of them were sharing. It wasn’t even as if the couple was doing anything obscene, just a quick peck lasting a fraction of a second, and yet Kevin’s stomach still churned.  
  
He didn’t _care_ that Connor was gay, or that he had a boyfriend who occasionally would visit. He really had no problem with gay people, really! He was a good person, a decent human being! But it was getting harder and harder to convince himself that the bullshit he’d been taught as a child hadn’t stuck with him when he clenched his teeth every time Connor and Steve were remotely intimate.  
  
“Do you hate Steve?” Connor ventured as they put away the snacks after his boyfriend left for the night. (Kevin had the suspicion that had he not been there, the two would have retired to Connor’s bedroom, the very thought of which gnawed at Kevin, but Connor was hardly one to sexile his roommate with less than 24 hours of notice.)  
  
“No, of course not,” Kevin assured quickly a hint of bitterness that he even had to clarify that seeping into his voice. He began to roll the top of the bag of chips to preserve them as well as give him something to do with his hands. “He’s cool.”  
  
Connor frowned. If Steve wasn’t the problem, then-  
  
“Is it me?”  
  
Kevin’s agitated rolling continued past the necessary point and he accidentally popped the bag, sending chip remnants scattering to the floor. He stared at the mess for a few seconds before registering that it was indeed his doing.  
  
“Shit,” he grumbled, shaking his head at the wasted Lays. There weren’t many left but there were enough to be a hassle to clean up.  
  
He then retrieved the broom and dustpan from the closet to clean up the completely avoidable mess. Connor took the dustpan and held it steady against the floor so Kevin could sweep the chip dust into it.  
  
“Well, is it?” Connor probed again, looking up at Kevin from the floor.  
  
“Is it what?” Kevin asked in return without looking at his friend. He trained his eyes on the bristles of the broom as he swept.  
  
“Do I, I don’t know, make you uncomfortable?”  
  
Kevin huffed out a sigh and held the broom upright. He turned to look at Connor, whose concerned expression and position on his knees made it appear as though he was begging Kevin not to feel awkward with him around.  
  
“No, Connor, you don’t make me uncomfortable,” Kevin spelled out. “I don’t _care_ that you’re gay—I _really_ don’t. It _doesn’t_ bother me.” He sighed. Even he could hear the agitation in his voice. “Okay, the way I just said that makes it sound like it bothers me, but it doesn’t. It’s fine that you’re gay-”  
  
“You just don’t want to see it,” Connor gloomily finished the sentiment that had been iterated many, many times.  
  
Kevin swallowed hard. Because it wasn’t like _that_. While he didn’t like seeing Connor and Steve kiss, it wasn’t in the standard homophobic way. He’d seen other gay couples and none of them had evoked any kind of negative reaction from him. He was just as ambivalent to gay couples as he ever was to straight ones.  
  
“Connor, I- look, can you get up? I can’t take you seriously on the ground.”  
  
At the request, Connor stood up, dumped his dustpan of chips into their trashcan, and brushed off the knees of his pants. Now that they were on the same level, Kevin tried his statement again.  
  
“Connor, I don’t mind that you’re gay. I don’t mind that you have a boyfriend. I don’t even mind that it’s Steve-”  
  
“Then why are you so grouchy whenever he’s around?” Connor demanded.  
  
Kevin wished he had an answer to that. He could have insisted that he wasn’t ‘grouchy’ but he knew that he’d been caught so he simply propped the broom against the counter and excused himself to bed with the justification that he had an early shift at the cafe the next morning.  
  
That was a complete lie and Connor knew it, but he accepted that Kevin was less comfortable with homosexuality than he’d initially been and made the mental note to find a new roommate.


	2. Chapter 2

About a week had passed since the confrontation and neither had accomplished their goals. Connor had not found a new roommate and Kevin had not figured out the root of his problem with Steve and Connor. This caused even more frustration since he couldn’t even solve the problem that was creating a slight rift in his friendship with Connor. He knew he had to find some way to repair it because there was one thing that he knew for certain about the situation—he couldn’t lose Connor.  
  
He had gotten into such a state of desperation that he turned to Arnold for advice. He turned to _Arnold Cunningham_ , who had never even had friends before their time in Uganda, for advice on repairing his friendship.  
  
“I dunno,” were the wise words the prophet shared over some leftover pizza. Kevin should have known better than to entrust this incredibly important task to Arnold’s admittedly less-than-competent hands.  
  
Kevin rose from the small table in Arnold’s apartment, his own slice of pizza left untouched.  
  
“Well, thanks anyway, pal,” he said with a nod as he turned to leave. If Arnold was unable to help him with this problem, he would find someone who could. Who that person was, he had no idea.  
  
“I mean…maybe you’re jealous?” Arnold suggested.  
  
Kevin almost whipped around at the idea. He stalked back the few steps he had taken and slammed his hands on the table. Arnold jumped at the sudden forcefulness, leaning back in his chair.  
  
“I am _not_ jealous of Steve Blade,” Kevin growled, shaking his head at his best friend.  
  
Arnold’s expression shifted from one of shock and the tiniest bit of fear to utter confusion. His eyebrows knitted together as he squinted up at Kevin and cocked his head.  
  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why would you be jealous of Steve?” he asked.  
  
“I’m not,” Kevin assured again, shaking his head more fervently. “Wait, so then you think I’m jealous of _Connor_?”  
  
Kevin almost laughed. That was just absurd. Connor was wonderful, but there really wasn’t anything that he had for Kevin to be jealous _of_. Sure, his dancing prowess was impressive but Kevin wasn’t looking to join any dance team.  
  
Arnold shrugged.  
  
“I dunno,” he reiterated. “Maybe you’re jealous of like, the fact that he’s got somebody else?” Kevin opened his mouth to respond that he had plenty of people in his life, but Arnold continued. “Maybe you’d be less mean to him if you had a girlfriend.”  
  
“I don’t want a girlfriend,” Kevin immediately responded. “And I’m not mean to him.”  
  
Arnold raised his brows skeptically and Kevin launched into a rant about everything he does for Connor that’s nice, which Arnold cut short by asking a question loudly over the list of nice things Kevin did.  
  
“Is he happy?”  
  
Kevin faltered. What the _heck_ kind of question was that? Images of Connor smiling, warm and bubbly, filled Kevin’s head and he felt a tingling deep in his core. Then memories of Steve Blade infiltrated and while Connor remained just as happy, Kevin’s core did not. The pleasant tingling sensation was replaced with a twisting twinging one and he grimaced at the change.  
  
“Buddy?”  
  
“Yeah. Yeah, he’s happy,” Kevin muttered with an almost-resentful nod. With the amount of bitterness in his voice, he was doing himself no favors convincing Arnold he was nice to Connor. “And I’m happy for him. Really. He deserves a great guy and Steve’s…Steve’s a really great guy.”  
  
“But…?” Arnold prompted, still trying to figure out the problem as much as Kevin was.  
  
“But nothing,” Kevin replied quickly. “Con’s happy so I’m happy. And Steve’s great. There’s nothing more to it.” If there was anything more he could tell Arnold, he would have figured out the solution when the problem had first arisen a month ago.  
  
“Kevin-”  
  
“No. I’m not jealous, I don’t want a girlfriend, and everyone’s happy.” If only he felt happy instead of…however it was that he actually felt. Then there wouldn't be any problem to solve in the first place.


	3. Chapter 3

Connor had started spending more and more time at Steve’s apartment. Or, at least when they spent time at Connor’s apartment it was when Kevin wasn’t around. It had been at least three weeks since Kevin had been witness to the couple behaving intimately but Kevin still had a sour taste in his mouth every time Connor returned from a date with Steve.  
  
Steve’s first time at Connor and Kevin’s apartment in a little over a month brought with it a shocking step forward in his relationship.  
  
“I love you.” Connor hadn’t meant for the confession to come in the middle of a movie night, after Steve had made a bad pun about _Moulin Rouge_. He particularly hadn’t meant for it to be while Kevin was third-wheeling, sitting just on his other side.  
  
It felt like the world had completely stopped, for both Connor and Kevin. Connor couldn’t breathe, afraid that Steve would think he was moving too quickly. He stared at his boyfriend with wide eyes, anticipating the worst reaction. Meanwhile, beside him Kevin felt a horrible stinging inside, like his entire being was inflamed at this new revelation. He got up and went to his bedroom, having thought he excused himself from the now extremely uncomfortable movie night.  
  
Without anyone else to turn to, Kevin called Arnold.  
  
“He loves him,” Kevin spat into his phone. He knew this shouldn't make him as angry as it did, and yet he was pacing around his room, gripping his cell phone so tight his knuckles were starting to turn white. “He fucking _loves_ him.”  
  
“Whoa! Slow down, who?” Arnold asked from the other end.  
  
“ _Connor_ ,” Kevin clarified venomously. “Connor _loves_ Steve.”  
  
“Oh. I thought you were happy for him?”  
  
“I am!” Maybe shouting wasn’t the best way to convince Arnold of his sincerity but Kevin wasn’t _not_ happy for Connor being happy in his relationship. He just…wasn’t happy right now.  
  
There was silence on the other end of the line followed by a quiet “You sure?”  
  
“Of course I’m fucking happy for him, Arnold, he’s my b-he’s my friend.” Kevin knew better than to call Connor his best friend when on a call with his actual best friend but he just felt closer to Connor, more friendly, more intense friendship. “So obviously if he says he loves this guy, then yeah, I’m going to be fucking happy for him.”  
  
Arnold hummed a single tone as he thought. After a few seconds this quirk annoyed Kevin and he held his phone away from his ear while his best friend thought of how to respond to this. Kevin took this opportunity to sit down and breathe, trying to calm his internal turmoil (which, he reminded himself, he shouldn’t even be having).  
  
It took five times of Arnold saying variations of “Hey buddy?” for him to actually get Kevin’s attention. If Kevin hadn’t had his phone so far from his ear, it probably only would have taken three.  
  
“Yeah?” He tried to sound optimistic about whatever Arnold had to say but his lividness at the whole situation just made him sound exasperated and sarcastic.  
  
“Well, uh, I was just thinking…” Arnold trailed off but Kevin prompted him to keep talking even though it seemed like it was something that Arnold thought would make him uncomfortable. “I was just thinking that _maybe_ you are really, you know, not happy for Connor. Like, at all.”  
  
Part of Kevin wanted to deny this accusation because he was a great friend and God damn it he was happy that Connor was happy. But there was also a part of him that was willing to admit to this with the response ‘Gee, that’s _genius_ , buddy. Great work, pal.’ It was just a question of which part of him was stronger.  
  
“If you think I’m sad about this-”  
  
“Not-no, not _sad_. Uh, just not _happy_ , you know?”  
  
“I’m still not jealous if that’s what you’re getting at,” Kevin beat Arnold to the punch. He wasn’t jealous of Connor, or of Steve, or of Connor and Steve’s relationship. “I’m happy for Connor, Steve’s great, and I don’t need a girlfriend.”  
  
Arnold thought silently for a few seconds and the thought was punctuated by an interested “Hm.”  
  
“Oh, God, what now?” Kevin groaned.  
  
“Er….nothing, never mind,” Arnold chickened out of expressing whatever had elicited the intrigued response.  
  
“Arnold, you’re my best friend, you have to tell me,” Kevin asserted. He waited several seconds before prompting Arnold again. “I’d tell you.” A few more seconds passed with no new information from Arnold. “Arnold.”  
  
“Buddy, I’m…this is probably waaaaay off so it’s not even really worth saying so I’m just gonna-”  
  
“Tell me anyway.”  
  
“You don’t want a girlfriend.”  
  
_That_ was the shocking revelation that he had to pull out of Arnold? Something that he had _told_ him? Kevin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.  
  
“I know. I just said that.”  
  
“Nooo,” Arnold all but sang through the phone. Kevin could hear the hint of a childlike giggle in his voice, which he decided did not bode well for whatever Arnold was about to say. “You don’t want a _girlfriend_.”  
  
Kevin froze as he interpreted the statement.  
  
“You uh…you think I’m-no, Arnold, I’m not gay. You were right; this is way off. Thanks anyway, talk to you later.” Kevin hung up before even letting Arnold say goodbye.  
  
Exhausted and still angry about the entire Steve situation, Kevin lay down in bed. For the first time, he didn’t even bother changing his clothes. He tried not to think about the whole debacle but the fact that Arnold thought that this could all be stemming from some…some late-blooming homosexuality kept gnawing at his brain.  
  
_I’m not gay. That’s not what this is. I can’t be gay._


	4. Chapter 4

Arnold was wrong about a lot of things, so it surprised Kevin that he couldn’t shake the feeling that his suspicions might have some validity. He supposed that it was left over from Uganda where everything Arnold said was taken as truth. Even so, not feeling entirely confident in his own ability to disprove the theory, he turned to the best-suited person for the job.  
  
“So, how did you know you were gay?” Connor suspiciously looked up from his cereal at the question and Kevin explained quickly that he was “just asking for a friend.” If he could determine that this irrational anger wasn’t caused by homosexuality, then at least he could put himself at ease.  
  
Connor set down his spoon with a clink against the glass bowl. He took a deep breath and asked what this was all about.  
  
“Nothing. Um, nothing big, I mean, just…a friend thinks that he uh…well, a friend of a friend thinks that that friend is gay so I figured I’d uh,” Kevin reached across the table and amicably albeit a little awkwardly patted Connor’s shoulder, “ask the expert.”  
  
Connor snorted and shook his head.  
  
“I’m flattered but I’m hardly an _expert_ ,” he laughed.  
  
“Well, you know more than me so,” Kevin nodded at Connor to encourage him to explain how one makes the self-discovery.  
  
With a little more prompting and promises that Kevin wouldn’t judge him, Connor started to divulge his experiences over his steadily soggying Fruity Pebbles.  
  
He explained how, even at the age of ten, he knew he didn’t want a girlfriend, which all of his family had disregarded as him being of that age when every boy thought girls were icky and that one day his feelings would change. Because of this, he hadn’t initially realized that his feelings for Steve were really romantic.  
  
“I just assumed—okay, you promised not to laugh at me,” Connor reminded his roommate before continuing. “I had never had a crush before so until my uh,” he bowed his head covering the word ‘dream’ with a bout of fake coughs, “I thought I just wanted Steve as a um…it sounds silly now that we’re grown up, but I thought I wanted him as a ‘super friend,’ I guess?”  
  
Kevin blanched, remembering that that was exactly the conclusion he’d drawn on the phone with Arnold. That he had a more intense friendship with Connor than with his own best friend.  
  
“Fuck,” he breathed, closing his eyes and running his hand through his hair. How could he let this happen? How did he not notice this happening? He lived with Connor, for Christ’s sake! He should have had some kind of sign before now! Some thought about him that seemed out of place, or he would even have accepted a dream like Connor’d had back in fifth grade.  
  
“Kevin?”  
  
When Kevin opened his eyes, Connor was staring at him in concern. While Kevin used profanity more frequently than most of the ex-District 9 Elders, he never used it meaninglessly. In a sentence consisting _solely_ of an expletive usually meant something really bad just happened.  
  
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it, Connor. Everything’s fine,” Kevin assured. “I can handle it.”  
  
And, God, he hoped he could. He’d barely been holding it together without knowing why he was so angry at Connor and Steve all the time. Now that he was informed, he had no idea how this would affect him. Maybe it would just go away on its own—and if it didn’t, he would suffer in silence because he wasn’t about to ruin Connor’s happiness with Steve. He was a good person, after all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously complete after 4 chapters but, after some prompting, I figured out how to continue.

Kevin had no idea how to behave around Connor anymore. He couldn’t address his problem since Connor was still happily in a relationship with Steve and he had no idea how to keep his stomach from churning at the mere mention of it much less the sight of it. It wouldn't be enough to simply take care of the symptoms, he would need to stop feeling the stupid crush at all.  
  
The moment he realized he needed to stop feeling was the same one when he figured out what he needed to do. He would need to begin a practice that everyone in District 9 had promised never to use again; he was going to have to turn it off.  
  
His first test came the night after he decided to try his hand at turning it off since he never really had tried to before.  
  
“So, I was thinking of maybe moving in with Steve,” Connor mentioned far too casually as he rinsed off his plate in the sink.  
  
“Are you seri-” Kevin cut himself off and took a deep breath. _Off._ He cleared his throat and turned to Connor with a warm smile to mask his discomfort. He thought this was supposed to help but his stomach was still grinding furiously. “Well, that is… _quite_ the step to take. Are you sure you guys are ready for that? You’ve only been going out for like two and a half months.”  
  
Connor frowned at the sudden change in his roommate’s demeanor. The smile was a little unsettling and plastered onto his face, very reminiscent of the Mormon missionaries they once had been.  
  
“I haven’t actually brought it up to him yet,” Connor shrugged, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling that Kevin’s overly earnest grin incited. “But I thought I’d tell you in case everything works out.”  
  
Kevin nodded in understanding, hiding his gritting teeth with the toothy smile. Obviously he wasn’t very good at turning this off yet.  
  
“Well, I am _very_ happy for you,” he stated, moving in to wash his own plate. Connor moved out of his way to make room at the sink.  
  
“You don’t have to lie, Kev,” Connor assured, folding his arms. “You don't have to be happy for me; you can just be happy I’ll be out of your hair.”  
  
“I don’t want you out of my hair,” Kevin responded before stopping himself, turning to look at Connor. _No. That is the exact **opposite** of turning it off._ He cleared his throat and fixed his eyes on the plate in his hands. “I just mean that you aren’t in my hair. That you don’t bug me.”  
  
Connor sighed and hid his face in his hands. The last time they’d had a conversation like this, it had not ended well. The more Kevin tried to insist that he had no problem with Connor dating Steve, the worse the situation became.  
  
“Kevin, it’s okay,” Connor assured with a small smile when he finally took his hands away from his face. “I don’t expect you to be completely okay with it. We learned some things that are pretty hard to shake.” Connor gave him a guilty smile. “Sometimes _I_ still have a hard time with it.”  
  
“I am _not_ homophobic!”  
  
Kevin whipped around, holding the now-clean plate in one hand and a soapy sponge in the other. He gently placed the plate back in the sink figuring that that was the safest place for it to be so he wouldn't accidentally fling it at the man he lov- _Off._  
  
“I _can’t_ be homophobic-”  
  
“Kevin, we learned it; it’s okay.” Connor didn’t know why he was placating him so much. It wasn’t okay and Kevin was right to feel bad for treating Connor as bizarrely as he had been.  
  
“No, you don’t understand. I can’t be homophobic because I’m-”  
  
_No. Off. **Off.**_  
  
Kevin turned away from Connor and started to head to his room with the excuse of an early morning. Connor furrowed his brows, frowning at the repeated lie. He pursued Kevin for a few steps, grabbing at his forearm.  
  
The brief and innocent contact set Kevin’s skin alight. How many ways could he fuck up turning it off in one day? If there was some sort of check list, surely he’d hit all of them.  
  
“Because you’re what?” Connor probed pleadingly. Kevin could tell that he had already filled in the blank but just wanted to hear Kevin confirm it.  
  
“Not talking about this,” Kevin responded, yanking his arm out of Connor’s grip.  
  
Connor was not deterred and grabbed Kevin’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. He smiled warmly up at Kevin, and unlike Kevin’s smile, his was genuine.  
  
“You can trust me, Kevin,” Connor promised, squeezing his hand again.  
  
Kevin clenched his teeth. Connor really wasn’t making it easy to turn off this dumb infatuation. Between his touch electrifying Kevin’s skin and him gazing up at Kevin so innocently, Kevin had half a mind to confess to everything. But that would definitely ruin their friendship since Connor didn’t feel that way for him (at least, not anymore. Why couldn’t Kevin’s feelings have sparked a year earlier?) and Kevin couldn’t risk losing Connor entirely.  
  
“I know I can,” he agreed with a nod, sliding his hand out of Connor’s. A silence fell over the pair as Connor waited for Kevin to confide in him and Kevin waited for Connor to drop the topic.  
  
“So, why can’t you be homophobic?” Connor pried after several seconds had passed.  
  
Kevin shook his head, sighing. He couldn’t believe he had honestly thought that Connor would be content with letting the subject be.  
  
“It doesn’t really even matter,” he said. As it turned out, saying this was a mistake as it just piqued Connor’s interest further. The redhead raised his eyebrows and cocked his head at Kevin, who just shook his head again. “Can we just talk about this some other time?”  
  
Connor reluctantly released his hand and let Kevin go to his room. On Kevin’s own time, then.  
  
“But we aren’t _not_ talking about it!” he called as Kevin disappeared into his bedroom.

  



	6. Chapter 6

Kevin considered his last few weeks pretty successful. He had gotten better at turning off his impossible crush on Connor (though really the only way he could have done worse his first day was if he had told Connor how he felt—wait, no. Kissing him. Kissing him would have been infinitely worse.) and he had managed to avoid talking to Connor about why he couldn’t possibly be homophobic. Of course, he had managed this by avoiding Connor altogether for the past couple of weeks, but surely that was for the best if Connor was going to move in with Steve.  
  
“Well, you were right,” Connor announced bitterly, his voice pitching up on the final word. It was only half past eight so he was home relatively early from being ‘out and about,’ which Kevin knew was really just code for ‘on a date with Steve Blade but I’m not going to say that because you’ll get all weird about it.’  
  
“I was right about what?” Kevin asked as he looked away from the TV and up at his roommate standing. Connor’s eyes looked a little red but Kevin couldn’t tell if it was just the light or if- “Con?” He got up off the couch and took three steps to get into the kitchenette in order to get a closer look at his friend. It definitely wasn’t the light, then. “Con, were you…crying?”  
  
_If that jerk made you cry, I’ll_ \- It was a pointless threat. What could he possibly do to Steve? Steve Blade was taller and possibly stronger than he was so a physical confrontation probably wouldn’t end well for him.  
  
Connor turned his back to Kevin and grabbed a paper towel from the holder beside the sink to dab at his eyes. Kevin winced, knowing that that was hardly the most comfortable product that could be used.  
  
“Make fun all you want,” Connor sniffed before blowing his nose into presumably the same paper towel.  
  
Kevin frowned at Connor’s presumption and reached out to touch his shoulder gently.  
  
“Connor, I’m not making fun of you,” he assured. But just for extra measure, he added, “I promise.”  
  
He reached out with his other hand and, gripping his shoulders, slowly turned Connor back around to look at him. After doing so, he quickly realized that that was a terrible mistake. He had never been this close to Connor before and now he could see everything, in excruciating detail: every freckle, the glossiness of his red-rimmed eyes, just how _blue_ they really were—if Kevin paid attention in art class then he might actually have words to describe the colors, the fact that his lips were chapped.  
  
Kevin pried himself away from Connor and he hoped that he hadn’t been staring for a creepy amount of time.  
  
“What did he do?”  
  
Connor laughed bitterly and shrugged out of Kevin’s grip. He shook his head and took Kevin’s previous spot on the couch, staring straight ahead. Kevin immediately followed and sat beside him, keeping his distance.  
  
“I wasn’t being funny,” he stated plainly, watching as Connor shook his head in disbelief. “That jackass-”  
  
“He’s _not_ a jackass,” Connor snapped, whipping his head around to Kevin.  
  
“He made you cry and you’re defending him?” Kevin asked.  
  
“One time doesn’t make him a jackass,” Connor replied somberly, turning back to face the wall, staring beyond the television, which was playing a commercial for some insurance agency. Kevin reached for the remote and muted it so they could have a conversation without being interrupted by the ads.  
  
“How many does?” Connor didn’t respond. Kevin wasn’t sure if this meant that Steve had made him cry before and he had just missed it due to his avoidance of the relationship or if there was another issue. “Connor?” Again, no response. “Look. I get that you don’t want to talk to me-”  
  
“ _I_ don’t want to talk to _you_?” Connor repeated incredulously, breaking his silence. “You have done nothing but ignore me for three weeks and _now_ you choose to talk to me?”  
  
Kevin recoiled from the words alone. He didn’t expect the sting.  
  
“I-You came home _crying_. I’m concerned about you,” he explained. “Just tell me what happened?”  
  
Connor huffed out a laugh and shook his head. Like before, Kevin failed to see what was so humorous about the situation.  
  
“Like you told me why you couldn’t be homophobic?”  
  
Kevin swallowed hard. Somehow he had managed to convince himself that Connor would have forgotten about that exchange if given enough time. And he had certainly been given enough time.  
  
“That…you see, that is…that’s just _completely_ different,” Kevin shook his head. “Not even remotely comparable.” Plus, they weren’t even talking about him anymore; they were talking about Connor.  
  
Connor rolled his eyes.  
  
“You’re absolutely right. _Your_ refusing to talk to me is only like this if Steve broke up with me because he’s straight.”  
  
Kevin faltered slightly. Steve had broken up with Connor. _Steve_ broke up with _Connor_. If anything it should have been the other way around—though, yes, Kevin knew that Steve made him happy but Kevin also knew that Connor could do better than Steve Blade (and while he _was_ including himself in that category, he wasn’t specifically referring to himself). He wasn’t even upset about the jab about him not expressing his newly-discovered sexuality because he fixated on the fact that Steve had been the one to end the relationship.  
  
“He…wow, Connor, I’m so sorry,” he expressed, tenderly reaching out to wrap his arm around Connor’s shoulder. Connor jerked away from him, not in the mood to be touched. Kevin retracted his arm.  
  
“Are you happy now?” Connor asked him bitterly.  
  
Kevin furrowed his brow. Did he not just hear him express his condolences?  
  
“No! God, no. Why the fuck would I be happy?” He hated to admit it but he must not be as good a person as he initially thought because there is a warmth deep in his chest that indicates that he actually _is_ at least a little happy about this new situation. But he’s still a decent person so he’s not going to even so much as mention his feelings for Connor until he was well-healed.  
  
“Because now Steve’s available.”  
  
Kevin faltered, confused by the accusation. He hesitated before replying, unsure if he understood the allegation correctly.  
  
“You…think I like Steve?” he asked in utter disbelief.  
  
“Well, you’re obviously ‘not homophobic,’” Connor explained, still using Kevin’s euphemism for it as not to alienate him, “so it was pretty easy to figure out what was going on. Why you were so upset to see me with him.”  
  
“I don’t like Steve, you idiot,” Kevin shook his head in assurance. He should have left it there. He could have left it at that and there would have been no harm done, but his mouth decided that he just _had_ to take it one step further. “I like you.”


	7. Chapter 7

This time when the world stopped, it was far worse. Unlike the stinging sensation he had experienced the last time the world froze around him, which was when Connor had confessed his feelings for Steve, Kevin felt like he was going to be sick. His entire body was on fire and his heart was lodged in his throat. His stomach churned so much that he wasn’t sure he wasn’t about to puke all over Connor. He could feel his pulse pounding in his ears. This was horrible.  
  
Even worse was when he noticed that Connor was staring at him. Maybe it was every bad-case scenario running through his head that made it impossible to interpret the expression on Connor’s face. It didn’t seem particularly thrilled at the prospect but he didn’t look disgusted by it either. That was the problem. He didn’t seem to have any visible reaction to it. Sure, his eyes were wide and his lips were slightly parted but that was to be expected when someone just received shocking news.  
  
“You…like me?”  
  
Kevin slightly panicked. He was unsure what to do in this situation. Should he own up to this now that it’s already been said? Should he try to cover it up any way he knew how?  
  
“I…uh, well you see what it is is that I…” Kevin stumbled through a rambling, half-assed excuse and Connor’s face fell.  
  
“Not that you’re not lovable,” Kevin tacked on, trying to make Connor feel better since he figured that shooting down the idea that he actually liked him was probably not the best pick-me-up after being dumped. “Not that I know that I _love_ you-"  
  
“Kevin,” Connor interrupted before his roommate could embarrass himself even further. Unfortunately, Kevin was so into giving his excuse that Connor had to repeat his name three more times at increasing volumes over the words spilling forth from Kevin’s mouth rapidly. If his loudest “Kevin!” hadn’t silenced him, Connor was prepared to cover Kevin’s mouth just to get him to stop talking.  
  
“Kevin, calm down. _I’m_ the one who should be being comforted, not you.”  
  
Kevin nodded in understanding. After all, Connor had just been dumped by a man he loved. That was a little more devastating than Kevin accidentally confessing his own unreciprocated feelings.  
  
Although he still felt like vomiting from his own problem, Kevin set about making sure Connor was comfortable. He quickly went to the kitchen and retrieved a carton of cookie dough ice cream (well, what was left of it) and a spoon. He brought it back to Connor with a small smile.  
  
Although he gratefully accepted the half-empty carton, Connor shook his head up at Kevin.  
  
“Kev, you don’t ha-”  
  
But Kevin had already moved on to the next part of establishing the perfect environment to get over a break-up. He rifled through their admittedly less than diverse movie collection and held up a couple, one DVD in each hand.  
  
“Okay, _Sound of Music_ or _Singing in the Rain_?” he asked holding up the options.  
  
“Kevin,” Connor tried again. This only indicated to Kevin that he didn’t want to watch either of those (which came as a shock to him—Connor didn’t want to watch _Singin' in the Rain_? That had never happened in the history of forever.) so he turned back to the DVD rack, apparently not hearing Connor call his name to try to discourage him from doing so.  
  
“How about _Joseph_?” Kevin suggested, waving the DVD case towards his sad friend. “It’s got Donny Osmond,” he sang as if that would cheer him up.  
  
Connor did huff out a laugh at Kevin’s ridiculousness, almost choking on the spoonful of ice cream in his mouth in the process. He coughed and pounded on his chest as the liquidated dessert went ‘down the wrong pipe.’  
  
“Okay, I guess that’s a no,” Kevin nodded, replacing it on the shelf. “I will find something though. Don’t you worry.”  
  
“Kev, you don’t have to,” Connor protested, his voice a little hoarse from choking on the ice cream.  
  
“That’s what makes me so nice,” Kevin responded without turning around, still searching through the titles.  
  
Connor narrowed his eyes at Kevin’s back, cocking his head slightly and fighting the smile that was creeping onto his face.  
  
Kevin turned around holding two different versions of the same musical. Before he could talk about how ‘now _this_ is a sad redhead,’ he noticed Connor’s odd look and questioned it.  
  
“Did you just intentionally quote _Wicked_ to me?” Connor asked in return.  
  
Kevin thought over his last reply and realized that the response did sound familiar and that was entirely Connor’s fault since he listened to that soundtrack almost religiously.  
  
“Well, if you didn’t listen to it so much, I wouldn’t have memorized it,” Kevin shrugged. He could probably fake his way through half the show based solely on his knowledge of the lyrics. “Anyway, we have two versions of-”  
  
“You have listened to ‘Be Our Guest’ too many times to count but _Wicked_ is the problem?” Connor teased, scooping another spoonful of ice cream.  
  
Kevin fixed his roommate with a straight-faced stare. There was no limit on Disney.  
  
“ _Annie_ , _Annie_ , or neither?” he finally asked, nearing exasperation. When Connor dismissed both versions, Kevin suggested _Beauty and the Beast_ without picking up the DVD case. This time, Connor responded with an unamused stare.  
  
“Okay, okay,” Kevin laughed, shaking his head. He replaced the _Annie_ s and grabbed the next movie musical that he saw. “ _Grease_? Actually, that’s probably a bad idea-”  
  
“No, it’s fine,” Connor interrupted, giving the first positive feedback towards a movie all night. “It’s cheesy and fun and it’s been forever since I’ve watched it.”  
  
“No explanation needed,” Kevin assured, putting the disc in the DVD player. He settled onto the couch beside Connor, leaving enough room between them to make it obvious that he wasn't being kind in hopes of swaying Connor’s feelings for him to be anything more than platonic—Connor wasn’t even supposed to _know_ about his feelings until he was definitely over Steve Blade. He was just doing this because he was a good person.


	8. Chapter 8

Kevin had worried that putting on a musical that was literally all about romance would get to Connor, but Connor seemed to be fine. Kevin kept glancing over to his friend to see how he was doing. He was fine through the summer romance at the beach and the opening credits and ‘Summer Nights,’ though Kevin worried about the final verse when Danny and Sandy sang about getting separated from each other. A quick glance at Connor revealed no ill-boding signs so Kevin thought that he might be able to relax and enjoy the movie.  
  
Until they got to the pep rally scene. Kevin didn’t realize until Danny and Sandy were face to face that their reunion didn’t go well. In order to distract Connor from the screen, he started talking.  
  
“So what was I right about?” he asked, the first thing that came to his mind.  
  
Connor stiffened beside him and Kevin immediately regretted asking. Whatever he was right about must have been worse than the scene if it elicited such a strong reaction. However, before he could take back the question, Connor was answering it.  
  
“It was too fast to try to move in with him.”  
  
Kevin grimaced. He hadn’t meant to make matters worse.  
  
“Con, we don’t have to talk about it. Seriously, this is all supposed to make you feel better so just forget I asked. I’ll skip ahead to the next scene.” Kevin reached for the remote but didn’t press any button  
  
“And then I mentioned you and then he got weird and jealous, like by mentioning you I should have expected him to get upset, like because we live together we had a thing for him to be jealous _of_ ,” Connor’s voice wavered and he shook his head. Kevin set down the remote on the cushion between them.  
  
“I didn’t mean to bring it up, Connor; I shouldn't have asked.” He looked around to find a new conversation topic to distract Connor from what was now worse than the movie.  
  
“At least when _he_ was jealous, he told me.”  
  
Kevin frowned at the accusation.  
  
“I would have! I was going to! I just…was working through it myself. It was a lot to figure out all at once.”  
  
“Kevin, I’m joking,” Connor assured  
  
“Regardless, he had a problem with you living here but he wasn’t going to let you move in with him, he’s just…” Kevin trailed off at a loss for words to describe how negatively he now felt about Steve Blade.  
  
“ _They’re fleas on rats. They’re amoebas on fleas on rats. They are too low for even dogs to bite_ ,” Frenchy supplied from the screen during his awkward silence and Kevin pointed to the TV as if to indicate that _that_ was what he had wanted to say about Steve.  
  
Kevin was about to suggest skipping the rest of the scene but it turned out to be much shorter than he had remembered since they were already moving on to the next scene.  
  
  
  
Connor was pretty much fine for the rest of the movie, although he did eat his ice cream with a little more vigor when Danny abandoned Sandy for that other girl at the dance. But that seemed to be the only instance when his mood had soured. By the end, he had put away the ice cream as he had no more need for it and he was dancing in his seat and singing jovially. Kevin actually wondered if he had been restraining himself the whole time or if he had been in too bad a mood to sing-along until ‘You’re the One that I Want.’  
  
One of the things that Kevin ~~loved~~ really enjoyed about Connor’s personality was that when he was happy, it was absolutely contagious. Honestly, he could change people’s demeanors if he wanted just by existing in their vicinity. That’s why he wasn’t that surprised when he found himself compelled to join in part-way through the song. Instead of immediately joining in, he realized that, in light of his recent confession, ‘You’re the One that I Want’ was hardly the appropriate song for him to sing even if Connor was going for it, completely jamming out on his side of the couch. Kevin held off until the next song, to which he made up all the words but it’s not like they weren’t singing nonsense anyway.  
  
At some point during the song, Connor had tugged on Kevin to encourage him to dance in place with him, which Kevin indulged because anything to keep Connor’s good mood up. Soon, couch-dancing was not enough for Connor as the song warranted more high-energy moves in his opinion. So he pulled Kevin to his feet and danced with him, swaying and twisting and shimmying and, most importantly, smiling.  
  
The song ended, the car flew off into the sky, and the credits started to roll allowing the boys to sink onto the sofa again to catch their breaths. Unlike before, they did not leave an entire cushion between them to act as a bumper and as a consequence, they were very nearly brushing legs.  
  
“Hey Con?” Kevin broached breathlessly, his head lolling onto his friend’s shoulder.  
  
“Yeah?” Connor tilted his head slightly to see Kevin though the odd angle only allowed him to see Kevin’s brow and nose.  
  
“This…uh, this was fun.”  
  
Connor was almost struck by how odd it was that he had just had real fun the same night that he had been dumped. Even if it was just momentary to curb the pain of the loss, it was real fun.  
  
Still shocked but ultimately sentimental, Connor started to slowly bow his head to stack it atop Kevin’s, but Kevin had decided that it was late and that they should probably both get to bed. He raised his head, twisting slightly to look at Connor as he did so. They were lucky not to bash heads and sustain any injury but something that could be equally devastating was not avoided. Their lips briefly met, for no longer than a millisecond, barely grazing as they passed—just enough for neither of them to be entirely sure that it had happened at all.  
  
“Well, goodnight,” Connor stated, quickly removing himself from the situation of having to figure it out. Kevin sat in stunned silence on the couch, unsure of how to react.


	9. Chapter 9

Now Kevin had two choices. He could pretend nothing had happened (and maybe nothing _had_ happened but he had been so caught up in the couple-iness of what they’d been doing that he _thought_ that something had happened) and go about his days as usual; or he could address it to Connor, when he may find out that he thought nothing had happened, which would result in awkwardness for both sides. One thing was certain. He couldn’t avoid Connor like he had tended to recently.  
  
Luckily, Kevin didn’t end up having to make the decision. Unluckily, that was because Connor decided to talk about it the next morning over breakfast. Nothing goes better with eggs and toast than a heaping side of tension.  
  
Kevin sat at their table with his meal, pushing his scrambled eggs around since he was too nervous to eat. Connor set down his own plate across from his roommate but took his time sitting down.  
  
“I…I need time,” he finally stated, the very first thing he even said to Kevin that morning.  
  
Kevin looked up from his plate and nodded. So they were in agreement that it really _had_ happened, then. At least that was something.  
  
“Yeah. Yeah, I know,” he agreed, nodding for longer than necessary. Although his throat felt like there was something lodged in his throat, probably his heart, his voice didn’t reflect that. “I didn’t-”  
  
“I know,” Connor assured before Kevin could say anything even remotely apologetic. “You don’t have to say anything. It just happened.”  
  
Kevin returned his gaze to his plate and continued shifting his eggs around. He should be _happy_ , shouldn’t he? Connor hadn’t said ‘no,’ just ‘not yet.’ He should be happy about that, and yet everything inside him felt so much heavier.  
  
“Uh, eating would probably be easier sitting down,” Kevin suggested as he braced himself for the most awkward breakfast he probably would ever experience.  
  
Kevin didn’t know how long they sat in near silence, the air only disrupted by the scraping of their forks against their plates or the crunching of Connor’s toast. It felt entirely too long and apparently Connor felt so too as they both broke the silence at the same time.  
  
“Last night was fun,” Connor assured to undo any discouragement that had come from telling Kevin that he needed time.  
  
“Do you want O.J.?” Kevin asked, needing an excuse to get up from the table for even ten seconds.  
  
They went back and forth for a few seconds deliberating about who should go first but Kevin made the final decision by getting up and walking to the fridge. He repeated his offer, taking out the carton.  
  
Connor accepted and then repeated his own statement.  
  
_Until we kissed_ , Kevin thought bitterly, shaking his head slightly as he poured the orange juice into a clean cup for Connor.  
  
Connor sighed and looked up at him with sad but imploring eyes. Kevin brought back the glass and set it down before realizing that he must have actually said that out loud in order to provoke that kind of reaction from Connor. _Shit._  
  
He would have tossed the scraps of eggs on his plate to excuse himself from whatever awkwardness was about to ensue but Connor started talking before he could even grab the plate. _Shit shit._  
  
“It…I mean, yes it was a kiss but it wasn’t a _kiss_ kiss,” Connor began and Kevin wasn’t sure if that was meant to make him feel better or worse. “I mean enough of a kiss to be-”  
  
“Weird?” Kevin supplied almost hopelessly. Because a quarter of a second was all that it took to make their friendship weird.  
  
Connor shook his head, then reconsidered and shifted his head from side to side, unsure of if he meant weird. Because part of the problem was that it wasn’t weird; it was electrifying and far too short, which caused Connor a world of guilt because he should be recovering from Steve. To him, that brief kiss was indicative of maybe things not being that bad since Steve was gone. But Kevin seemed to think that it was weird.  
  
“I just need time,” Connor repeated. “You don’t want to be a rebound. I don’t want you to be a rebound. Let me get over Steve and then we’ll talk.”  
  
That was honestly better than Kevin was expecting. He had expected Connor to shut him down entirely and yet Connor was telling him he had a chance. That was the best he could have hoped for.


	10. Chapter 10

Waiting for Connor to get over Steve was an awkward and tense game of torture. They both liked each other (at least Kevin figured Connor reciprocated since he had hardly turned him down) and they both _knew_ they liked each other so it was a matter of waiting until it was appropriate to act on it.  
  
Kevin initially thought it would be around two weeks, maybe three tops—particularly because he had seemed almost happy about the prospect of the two of them as a couple. At least, Kevin thought he had. But he was wrong as it dragged on into a month, then a month and a half, closing in on two months. All the while, Connor seemed to be slipping into a deeper and deeper depression over Steve, no matter how often Kevin held a movie night with him or picked up some cupcakes from the bakery down the block ‘just ’cause’—all of which was because Kevin was a good person who cared about his friends and not an attempt to speed up the healing process. Obviously, Connor should grieve for as long as he needed but, frankly, Kevin found the length of time nearly ridiculous. His grievance was lasting nearly as long as the entire relationship.  
  
This worried Kevin. Surely Steve wasn’t so great that he warranted to take up this much of Connor’s time after he was gone. The selfish thought gnawed at Kevin’s brain that he certainly had a lot to live up to if Steve actually _had_ been so wonderful that Connor was justified in spending two months moping about a three-month relationship. But he pushed that to the back of his brain since he really shouldn't think about how his friend’s suffering was affecting him. That would just be a dick move.  
  
“Hey, Con, I’m home” he called when he returned from the bakery one day with a box balanced on his hand. Much to his surprise, Connor was waiting for him on the couch. “How’s it going?”  
  
“We’re going to get fat if you keep bringing home cupcakes,” Connor laughed shaking his head at the sweets. This wasn’t entirely true since Kevin had only brought home cupcakes maybe once a month but he didn’t point this out.  
  
“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t,” Kevin shrugged and struggled to open the box to show off a full-sized cake instead of a dozen cupcakes. This prompted Connor to his feet, though Kevin wasn’t sure whether it was to grab a slice or to chastise him for getting something a thousand times worse than the cupcakes.  
  
Connor stalked over to the kitchen to take a better look at the circular cake in the cardboard. It looked fairly standard: vanilla frosted with piping along the circumference, a pair of iced blue flowers, and semi-fancy swirly cake-writing script that read ‘Happy Birthday.’ He looked up at Kevin in surprise.  
  
“You didn’t think I’d forget, did you?” Kevin teased, nudging him with his shoulder. “But there’s no party.” Although Connor thrived in party settings, Kevin wasn’t too sure how he would cope in his current Steve-mourning state of mind. “At least none _I_ know about. But if Arnold kidnaps you, I’d like it to be on record I told him not to.”  
  
Connor laughed and nodded before reaching out to swipe off a stripe of icing only for Kevin to close the box cover on his hand to chastise his eagerness. Connor guiltily retracted his hand from the box and Kevin took it away to store in the fridge.  
  
“Plus, it’s the middle of the week. It makes more sense to on Friday or Saturday,” Connor pointed out as he watched Kevin remove the food from their fridge in order to make the cake box fit. “We can invite everybody over here and we can hang out.”  
  
“ _And_ they can give you presents,” Kevin teased as he repositioned all of their food around the new item, creating a precarious balancing act worthy of the edible equivalent of the Big Apple Circus.  
  
Connor laughed and jokingly accepted the accusation that the party was primarily for material gain, leaning against their counter and proclaiming that he was “guilty as charged.” He craned his neck to peer into the fridge and winced at Kevin’s reorganization, sucking in a breath of air.  
  
Kevin turned around and quirked a brow because all of the food was in there and stable enough not to topple over when he closed the door so he didn’t see a major problem.  
  
For some reason, Connor couldn’t bring himself to reprimand Kevin for undoubtedly endangering _something_ in there and instead said, “We should talk.” He’d been meaning to say that since Kevin had come home but he had gotten reasonably distracted by the cake.  
  
Kevin turned to him in concern, his brows raised as if unsure what Connor could possibly want to say.  
  
“Okay, I’ll find a different place for the cheese,” he responded defensively through laughter. He tucked the package on top of the covered plate of leftover pizza and moved to the side, showing off his handiwork.  
  
“I mean, that’s not what I meant, but okay,” Connor laughed. He gave Kevin a thumbs up for his expert refrigerator-arranging.  
  
Kevin furrowed his brows for a second before understanding what it was that Connor had actually wanted to talk about.  
  
“Oh,” he breathed. He nodded and closed the refrigerator, leaving his masterpiece behind. “Oh. Yeah, of course.”  
  
It wasn’t that he wanted to put off this conversation, he really and truly didn’t, but there was a very real possibility that Connor had changed his mind in the seven weeks since they had accidentally kissed—and if he had, then the resulting situation would fall somewhere in the cross-section of humiliation and tension. Kevin didn’t know what to anticipate so he couldn’t be certain if he should prepare for an end to their friendship by taking it to the next level or by finding somewhere else to live since there wasn’t really any way to come back from this. Maybe Arnold would take him in?  
  
“So?” Connor prompted.  
  
He was closer than he had been in the kitchen—they weren’t in the kitchen anymore? When did that happen? Kevin didn’t even remember moving to the couch to discuss their predicament, and he attributed this slight memory loss to the fact that he had been having an internal panic attack about what was about to happen.  
  
_And in freaking out about it, you completely missed it. Fuck._  
  
“Sorry, I uh…” Kevin tried to explain away his zoning out during the most important conversation he could have with Connor. Connor’s face fell and Kevin realized the impact of starting his comment with ‘Sorry.’  
  
“No, no, I didn’t mean ‘sorry’—well, I did, but not about what you said,” Kevin blurted all at once to make sure he didn’t run Connor off before he could fully justify his ‘apology.’ He took a deep breath and, with a slightly pained expression, he quietly asked, “Which was…what, exactly?”  
  
Connor let out a breath and relaxed his shoulders. He playfully slapped Kevin’s shoulder.  
  
“Don’t _do_ that!” he laughed and relaxed against the back of the couch. “You scared me for a second!”  
  
“I didn’t mean to; I just…I kinda was-”  
  
“Overthinking?” Connor supplied and Kevin sighed and reluctantly agreed with the statement.  
  
“It’s a lot to think about,” Kevin tried to justify. But, really, it wasn’t. He already knew what he thought about the situation. “Go on.”  
  
“ _A-ny-way_ ,” Connor continued. He took a breath and repeated himself, this time holding Kevin’s full attention. “What I said was that I know it’s been a while since Steve and I broke up—” Kevin nodded and his heart thumped a little bit faster in his chest. “And I know that I haven’t really been at my best—” _Oh God. This was it._ “But you still stuck with me and I don’t think I could have gotten through the worst of it without you.” Connor grabbed his hand with a broad smile. “Gosh, where would I be without you, Kevin Price?”  
  
Well, that certainly didn’t answer anything. It was optimistic but not definite and, damn it, Kevin waited this long and he needed an answer.  
  
“I…don’t know?” he ventured.  
  
“Neither do I.” Connor squeezed his hand in confirmation and leaned forward ever so slightly. “And I don’t want to.”  
  
_That. That_ was definitely clearer. It still took Kevin a couple of seconds for the sentiment to fully sink in, but when it finally did, he smiled in disbelief and squeezed Connor’s hand in return, almost as though to make certain that he was actually there.  
  
“I don’t want to either,” he softly agreed with a nod. He felt his body incline towards Connor, steadily closing the gap between them but he jerked himself out of the magnetic pull of his new…whatever Connor was to him now.  
  
Seeing Connor’s expectant face fall, Kevin quickly stood up from the couch proclaiming, “Before I forget.”  
  
Kevin left Connor sitting on the sofa, feeling a little rejected but not entirely because while they hadn’t actually kissed yet Kevin had still said yes. While he waited for Kevin’s return, he thought over the choice he had just made and, judging by the heart-fluttering, stomach-tingling, skin-prickling sensation that ignited within him just by thinking about Kevin, he made the right choice.  
  
“So, I got you a present,” Kevin declared, returning from his bedroom with a sealed envelope. Connor, who had been too far gone in his own head to hear the approaching footsteps, jumped out of his skin.  
  
Kevin laughed and apologized for scaring him before reclaiming his seat on the couch and holding the envelope out to him. When an excited and almost squealing Connor reached for the envelope, however, he jerked it back, keeping it just out of his reach.  
  
“Unless you want to wait for your party?” he teased.  
  
Connor shook his head and swiped the envelope from Kevin’s grip  
  
“They’re nothing fancy,” Kevin explained as Connor opened the envelope containing his present. “Not even a professional group but I figured-”  
  
“It’s perfect,” Connor assured, cutting Kevin’s doubts short. There was a slight lull in conversation before he held up the pair of tickets to a nearby community theatre’s production of _Les Misérables_. “You want to come?”  
  
Kevin raised his eyes, a little bit surprised that Connor had chosen so quickly.  
  
“As…?” he prompted.  
  
“Well, I was thinking as a date but,” Connor smiled mischievously up at him, “if you want to take a couple weeks, think it over-”  
  
Kevin shook his head with a laugh as he declared that he was done with thinking (and with waiting and with beating around the bush).  
  
“Yeah. Yeah, I’d love to.”


End file.
